An excited buzz permeated the air Tuesday as parents, kids, and school leaders celebrated the grand opening of the new Caliber: ChangeMakers Academy school.

Caliber students Lucas Norris and Zah Rai Francois stole the show when they jointly declared the two-story school, located on Oregon Street, as “officially open!”

A jubilant cheer erupted from the 150 in attendance.

The second loudest reaction came earlier in the program when Caliber co-founder Ron Beller reminded the audience about the history of the land.

Prior to being purchased by Caliber, the site was the longtime home of the Vallejo City Unified School District administrative offices.

After the district moved its headquarters to Mare Island, the building suffered from neglect, including being besieged by fire and homeless living in the dilapidated structures.

“Look at it now,” Beller said to a rousing applause from the standing room-only crowd. Many sat on bleacher-like seating inside an open-air atrium located in the middle of the building.

Armed with drumsticks and orange buckets, 12 students with the Caliber Beats group entertained the audience and signaled to nearby residents that the school is open for business.

On hand for the ceremony, and probably a bit jealous, was Matt Smith, superintendent of the Griffin Technology Academies.

Griffin is comprised of three independent charter schools, all operating in Vallejo: MIT Academy High School, Mare Island Technology Academy Middle School, and Griffin Academy middle school. MIT Academy was the city’s first charter school when it opened in 1999.

“What a great day for charters,” Smith said, “What a great day for Vallejo.”

Since opening, MIT has operated out of old, and rickety portable classrooms.

The Vallejo school board approved the Caliber charter petition in 2015, however during the meantime, the school has been open on the site that once held Vallejo Middle School on Nebraska Street.

The new school building contains enough room for grades K-5, with a majority of the second floor reserved for middle school students. A coding lab is also included in the facility.

Nick Bellamy, a 6th grade math teacher at the academy explained what it meant to work at the charter.

“We get to mold how our students are going learn,” Bellamy said. “We get to actually see our students develop, bring to life what we want to see from them.”